Dragon Daughter

Faking It

‘I was a teacher for 17 years, but I couldn’t read or write’  

It's incredible that John Corcoran retired from teaching before learning to read. He went to such lengths to keep his secret and lived in constant fear of discovery. Even his wife didn't believe him when he tried to tell her.

Just think of how critical literacy is to our day to day lives: Bank account and job applications. Emails or letters. Product descriptions and instructions. Driving theory tests. There are graphical cues for things and ways to learn without reading, but this modern world is hostile and exclusive to anyone with a low level of literacy. Our world operates on the written word.

Just thinking on how hard this was to do, how afraid and ashamed John was for so long, sheds a new light on dystopian fiction and human drama.

John has now gone on to write three books: an autobiography and two books on the subject of teaching and illiteracy.